Chiapas was the most anticipated part of the trip. Chiapas is the most southern state of Mexico, by the Pacific coast and by the Guatemalan border. It is a very diverse state when it comes to physical geography, it includes sub-tropical rainforest, high mountains and plains, the coast. It was also one of the states where ancient Mayans reigned for centuries, leaving behing hundreds of temples In Chipapas the amplitude of the tempretatures were the highest of all trip, for example driving from city of San Cristobal de las Casas in the cool mountains town to Palenque region in a hot and humid jungle.
It actually used to be a part of Guatemala until the 1840s as its people had stronger bonds and a sense of identity tied with Guatemala.
Chiapas is a paradise full of hidden gems and uncanny attractions that would thrill any adventure seeker - but not everybody dares to. Chiapas is unfortunately one of the poorest states of the country and even with its relatively low crime rate some inciidents may occur, specially to the tourists that roam around by themselves. Not necessairly life-threatening situations, but it is not uncommon to encounter a barricade of children on the road who won't let you pass unless you hand them money. There are some particular routes that are known for that, the most known one probably being the Palenque - San Christobal de las Casas. But if you are going with a tour all the tour buses from different companies stick together and have contacts with the police so there is really nothing to stress about. We decided to take tours anyway because we didn't have enough time to cover everything up by ourselves.
Chiapas is also famous for indigenous villages with... peculiar rituals, we didn't take part in any, but I think that Chula village is the most known and touristy. There is this small catholic church that combines christianity with indigenous beliefs and sacrifices chickens in the temple during the ceremony.
